Category: music

Is everybody working for the weekend? Especially if it’s for a holiday weekend the answer would be a strong yes. This year the 4th of July fell on a Wednesday breaking up the week without the three or four day weekend we’re accustomed to. I couldn’t remember the last time but it wasn’t that long ago as it happened in 2012.

This mid-week holiday was not only tough on us but was equally tough on the businesses that count on holiday weekends as their Black Friday sales event. So do you plan on celebrating the holiday on the days leading up to it or after including the weekend? Of course, everyone did some celebrating on the 4th but not to excess if you had to work the next day.

For those planning travel to see relatives and friends to celebrate the holiday together they had to make their arrangements and decided in advance. For those that had vacation days, they had to decide sometimes a month in advance to get off.

Regardless of your plans remember what Independence Day stands for. If it’s taken for granted or you need a refresher course here you go. As a little kid, I remember Red Skelton, though I don’t remember this clip on the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s so apropos for today. Enjoy.

Just over a week ago my wife and I saw Kansas in concert in Scottsdale. I saw Kansas way back in the “80’s” but my spouse hadn’t and she didn’t know they incorporate violin in many of their songs which sets them apart from most classic rock bands. It was great, they did Carry On Wayward Son as the encore!

Late last summer we saw Alice Cooper, Deep Purple and the Edgar Winter Band where Alice who is an Arizona resident was an incredible showman. Deep Purple is the oldest touring group and it’s their final tour. That’s probably a good thing and Edgar Winter doesn’t sing much but he still plays well.

Just over a year ago we saw Ann Wilson of Heart at the Celebrity Theatre which slowly turns ensuring you get a good look at the group. It’s sad that the Wilson sisters cannot mend their fence because they were so good together. Ann is the lead singer and she did most of their hits but carefully selected those where she didn’t have to hit the high notes. We saw Heart almost seven years ago when they were here with Def Leppard, Journey, and Billy Squire. Heart was the best of the show.

At the same venue in Scottsdale just over three years ago, we saw the Moody Blues outdoors which was the coldest May night in history. It was a great show and the Moody Blues said: “We asked our agent to book us in warm climates, I thought this was Phoenix, where’s the heat?”

Three Dog Night’s Old Fashioned Love Song is reminiscent of the 70’s culture movement. This old-fashioned or archaic idea is expressed in the new Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle movie the board game is replaced by an electronic version. The game has the same effects as the first one but is even more comical than the original with Robin Williams.

Within the title, the Song Welcome to the Jungle by Guns and Roses shows up at the very end in case you were wondering. I’ve seen Iron Man many times but never tire hearing the Black Sabbath song at the end of the Marvel masterpiece.

Just because some ideas are old fashion doesn’t make them archaic in fact a lot of manners that were around in the 1970’s have fallen by the wayside and humanity is suffering as a result. Simple things like opening a door for a lady was a good thing that is seldom practiced anymore. Advancement doesn’t mean you can throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Tiny house movement. It’s where people are downsizing to live within their means living in a space a fraction of the size they’re accustomed to. This is appealing to the millennials and the baby boomer alike. It’s a way of simplifying life returning to a much less complicated time and style of living.

Initially, the movement was almost strictly about changing to mobile living. Now, much of movement is more focused on downsizing and just living the simple life. It’s amazing how we amassed so much stuff over time. Seriously think about it everytime you move there’s more, and it took longer to pull it off. With time we accumulate.

For every person that is not a collector, there are probably ten of us that are. This guy’s van that is pictured I met in the parking lot, he has simplified to under 100 square feet. It’s equipped with solar panels as you can see and the little dome on top has a satellite dish. This is the tiniest house I ever saw but is designed for a single person and is short on some amenities.

Since we are bombarded by social media every day we encounter good news and bad news on a regular basis. Either news can be shocking to us depending on what it is and how important the content is to us. Before the advent of social media, before the internet, we got our news in the paper, TV, a weekly magazine or from a friend or neighbor.

Receiving the news in person has the speaker witnessing the expression of shock on our face. The facial expression exchange can be priceless. How do you stay up-to-date with current events? Am I promoting gossip? Heavens no, that’s typically not trustworthy news anyway. If anything I’m just encouraging a little more human interaction.

Haven’t you seen the videos and commercials of people walking down the street so engrossed in their phone that they walk into a pole? If anything I would encourage more interaction with one another. A really old song may be appropriate here by Dionne Warwick’s What The World Needs Now Is Love.

It’s always a pleasure to see plans that you set in motion to mushroom to full bloom and beyond. There’s a true sense of satisfaction when a plan comes together. In addition, successful people set goals that enable their success. On the flip side, it happens all too often where some misfortune strikes and then mushrooms into a disaster.

I don’t know about you but physical mushrooms don’t appeal to me, they don’t appear to have any flavor. I’m probably in the minority regarding mushrooms but that’s not the point here. The point regarding mushrooms is in the wild you’ll often find a mushroom patch where perhaps a single mushroom spread like weeds. Typically it’s because the setting is just right for the plant to flourish.

Well conceived plans that are thought out in advance have the greatest chance of success. They are like the perfect environment for you to achieve your goals one after the other until you are like those successful celebrities. Rocky used Eye of the Tiger to motivate him to succeed. What helps you to succeed? Until then we will see you on the news.

Trick or treaters dress up in their ghoulish garb every year. Fads and costumes vary with time as do decorations. Parents with children that are trick or treat age typically dress up in costumes as well and most have somebody handing out candy as well.

What isn’t discussed or even given any thought is how many parents continue to decorate, dress up and still hand out candy? The percentage of empty nesters that have grandchildren is still very high but how many still carry the torch for the holiday even though they no longer have a vested interest in Halloween? i.e. no kids or grandkids.

With the little research I did I couldn’t find any statistics on what now are the “baby boomers”. I believe it all depends on the individual. Many have an abundance of reinforcing memories that keeps the spirit alive. How many are familiar with the Monster Mash? Who can forget Thriller? The Boris Karloff laugh at the end really adds to the classic effect.

As you venture out, remember some of those that have their lights off, aren’t home, don’t care for Halloween or have lost the spirit. Happy Halloween one and all.

It’s amazing how most everything has a pattern to it. You can look at clouds and how they form a pattern to look like this or that which we recognize. Nature has patterns all around us that we marvel at every time we stop and think about it. It’s equally amazing how we find all these patterns around us to be so pleasing to the eye. That’s a compelling argument for creationists that God created these things and they were good.

Digging deeper when scientists look at our genes they see the pattern in our DNA. Again, something amazing in itself. Patterns aren’t limited to mother nature. I’m looking at this beautiful knitted blanket that my mother made it’s always been a pleasing pattern that reminds me of her. Mankind has made its mark.

Patterns aren’t limited to physical objects they’re also prevalent in our speech, writing, and music of course. Observing patterns in some fields of interest are a full-time job. People seldom stop to take time to see the patterns in this or that, they don’t have time to “stop and smell the roses” and that’s sad. We rush through our hurried life trying to get here and there and miss all the beauty around us.

Do yourself a favor and stop and smell the roses or observe the way your kids are playing. It could be enlightening to you and can only be of help in those relationships with nature and the ones that we love.

No this isn’t a poem just your standard prose regarding the crossing into a new year. Let’s not greet the new year with trepidation and anxiety for after all at least you were here to see it. Alas, this past year we all lost heroes in virtually every sector especially our entertainers like David Bowie. Don’t be too sad at least you have their efforts to be seen and or heard again through audio and video.

The big question everyone ponders is what New Year’s resolutions do we make? Who isn’t looking to make improvements? Considering those resolutions what kind of goals have you set for the short term and the long term? Or, are you saying resolutions are made to be broken? A lot of people do take this laidback approach like well at least my new diet took off several pounds. That was a good thing for wasn’t it the holidays that attributed to the extra weight.

Looking ahead we’ve already crossed the bridge and the new year does present us with new opportunities, new things to do and maybe places to see. Whatever path you choose simply chose wisely and things will work out. Fearing the future; thinking that way is like fearing every breath you take. Taking a confident sure can attitude will help you scale mountains. Think I can and you will. Welcome to 2017.

Thanksgiving has yet to arrive but everywhere you turn you see that it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. What embodies Christmas more than Santa? The question in children’s minds as they grow up is is there a Santa Claus? Here’s my favorite that my parents played for me every year, Yes, Patricia, There Is a Santa Claus by Jimmy Dean.

St. Nicholas was born in the third century between Europe and Asia and his popularity rose to the point where he was the most popular saint when the Renaissance arrived. The legend arrived in America in the 1770’s in New York with the Dutch using Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). Also in the 18th-century German and Swiss Christkind or Kris Kringle was believed to deliver presents to well-behaved children. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children with holiday treats and other countries had their own names for St. Nick.

Other assistants, elves, and Mrs. Claus came about in time and this year Rudolph turns 77 and the song by Gene Autry has endured 67 years while the movie narrated by Burl Ives is played for its 52nd year. Speaking of time, tonight in Chicago the 103rd Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place.

So as you travel about town and you see the Santa figures in the streets or in front of your favorite store remember the Salvation Army has been sending Santa Claus-clad, bell ringing, donation collectors into the streets since the 1890s.The money collected in those kettles is used to pay for the free Christmas meals they provided to needy families. Behold, an opportunity for anyone to serve as St. Nick through the Salvation Army.